Layout instrument



July 7, 1959 w. s. SACHER LAYOUT INSTRUMENT Filed Aug 16, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Wil liom S. Socher 1959 w. s. SACHER 2,893,133

LAYOUT INSTRUMENT Filed Aug. 16, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 R Q\ 0 H mm B O 3 VM W N S m w L rim w ofia m |1 I- "L o N v m w w m o WM vm l urwrvu mm Q ..I\II1| HI 2 nw mm on x 5 m HMWHN IHHHHMHHHWHmnuwfi hnuunl nnwu 1.1T

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ATTORNEY July 7, 1959 Filed Aug. 16, 1956 W. S. SACH ER LAYOUT INSTRUMENT 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 JZ//// Q/// ///A BHQQ W' INVENTOR William S. Sucher ATTORNEY 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR William S. Socher W. S. SACHER LAYOUT INSTRUMENT Filed Aug. 16, 1956 ATTORZEJEY July 7,1959

w; S. SACH ER LAYOUT INSTRUMENT 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 16. 1936 ATTORNEY W. S. SACHER LAYOUT INSTRUMENT July 7, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 16. 1956 INVENTOR William S. Sucher "6;; X W

ATTORNEY United States Patent O .11. h Z A h... ,,,n

. LAYOUT INSTRUMENT .SI SachenfPottstown, Pa., assignor of fifty per.-

The-presentinvention relates to the art of templet *and is concerned primarily with the layout of templet'n ieans for use with machines for punching or otherwise forming ap'lurality of rivet holes in structural steel" elements such as the component parts of girders, beams, web plates, 'angle plates, flange and cover plates, and the like.

Shop drawings of'structural steelelements show girders and beams drawn fiat and straight. The general practice is to locate rivetholes along gage lines parallel to the 'long'itudinalcenter line or axis at opposite sides thereof and spaced apart jat specified distances measured, for the first hole irr'each line from the left end edge of the web, and, for'eachysucceeding hole from the immediately preceding hole in the line. Rivet holes for the legs of angle plates, flange and coverplates,"'etc,, are given the same 'p g s; da i ma chin nas blx punching 'machine templet, under standard shop practice, is prepared from a print of a shop drawing and usually consists of a series" of wood strips in end to end abuttingrelation 'e'xtendingfor a distance at least equal to the full length of the web plate of the girder or beam as indicated on the blueprint. Socket holes are plotted on" the templet in full scale location and spacing correlspbn ding to'the'rivet holes as indicated on the print. Theseare'adapted to receive detachable pins or pegs which, when the templet is positioned alongside the work spacer table of a conventional punch machine, provide control for cooperation with work-advancing mechanism ofthe machine in a manner well known to the art.

The above described standard method of templet layout requires'a great deal of time and material which is expensive and involves constant mental calculation on the part of a workman in computing increments of spacing that vary between successive holes; besides constituting anever present potential for human factor error.

Present engineering practice makes wide use of cambered girders and beams to avoid sag, especially in bridge construction. -A specified camber necessarily requires a rivet pattern in which the total length of all the spaces between individual holes along any gage line above the neutral axis of the web plate is greater than the linear length of the neutral axis of a certain amount. Also, for any corresponding gage line below the neutral axis, the total length of all the spaces between individual holes is less' by the same amount than thelinear length of the neutral axis. The individual spaces along any gage line vary in extent and therefore in proportion to the total increase or decrease. As the universal practice in making shop drawings. is to locate the rivet holes on the basis of a straight web plate, without camber, it is obvious that if a cambered plate were punched precisely in accordance with the drawing serious misalignment of rivet holes would result with respect to angle plates, top and bottom flanges and cover plates, and accurate matching in assembly would be impossible.

I 'It is the! responsibility of the templet maker, when 'dealing with camber work, to convert as best he'can' the 2,893,133 Patented July 7, 1 959 spacing dimensions of the shop drawing into whatever dimensions are proper for a particular specified camber, and to lay out the templet accordingly. The methods employed by templet makers heretofore in attempting to reconcile templet layout calibrations withshop drawing calibrations on camber work are not capable of achieving tolerable rivet hole matching for assembly purposes, so far as I am aware. invariably, during. assembly, con: siderble reaming out of mismatching overlapped rivet holes is required and is recognized as a necessary evil, presenting a problem that the prior art practice has; not been able to solve.

The present invention is designed to overCOmQ the deficiencies of prior art practice. Its primary object; is to provide a method and apparatusfor laying out punch machine templet means for the componentparts of cambered steel structural elements, automatically and with such high accuracy as to achieve matching, within tolerance limits, of rivet holes in the component parts upon assembly; so that reaming is not required.

A further object of the invention is to provide a layout instrument for automatically locating simultaneously on a plurality of tapes, ea ch of which is representative of a designated portion of work to be punched or of a specific part or parts thereof, points at which each tape is to be marked or perforated at the correct spacings to insure that the tapes when operatively associated with a punch machine will so govern it that the holes punched in the various parts and portions of the work correspond- .ing to the tapes will match exactly when the parts are assembled tor riveting. I

Another object is to provide a geometrical instrument for simultaneously laying out and correctly spacing on a punching machine control templet rivet hole locations for all or some of the component parts of a bridgegirder, beam, or other structural steel member havinga specifiied camber. v

Still another object is to provide a layout instrument having means movable incrementally for laying out a linear series of points spaced apart at varying distances measured, in each case, with reference to the immediately preceding point, and having rule means incrementally extensible beyond a last laid out point for quick determination without mental calculation of the location for the point to be laid out by the next advancing step of the movable means.

Other and incidental objects will be apparent from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of the instrument of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the instrument as positioned for the beginning of a layout operation;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but with the instrument in another position of the layout operation;

'Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig.2;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 7--7 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a fragment of steel tape comprising one form of templet aslaid out by operation of the instrument;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary top plan view of another embodiment of the invention as positioned for the start of a layout operation; a

Fig. 10 is an overall top plan view of the instrument of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary elevation viewed'from the right of Fig. 13'; i t

converted onto the receiver. guide means operative as the result of such movement to Fig. 12 is a sectional view on the line 12-12 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 13 is a sectional view on the line 1313 of Fig. 9. Although the instrument of this invention is designed particularly for camber work, it is equally capable of 'speedy layout of any radius, bevel, or straight work and is so intended. The specific embodiments of the invenable intermittently by manual control in selective increments of linear travel to locate on the receiver a linear series of points spaced apart at varying distances in accordance with data supplied to the operator by a structural drawing, blueprint, or other record to be scale- The locator carries mark effect linear reciprocation of the guide means with respect to a reference point fixed on the locator, through an extent of travel proportionate to the linear extent of travel of the movable member during each increment of its movement. Manual control means on one of the mem hers is operative to select and predetermine a travel ratio between the movable member and the mark guide means of the locator.

With reference to Figs. 1-7, and the specific embodiment of the invention shown therein, the point mark receiver is the fixed member and is composite. It comprises a base 10 of a length equal at least to the full length of a girder, beam, or other structural steel element detailed on a shop drawing or blueprint from which templet means is to be laid out. The base is provided throughout its length with a pair of parallel upstanding side rails 11 constituting a track upon which a point locator 12, which is the movable member, is mounted on antifriction bearings, not shown, and guided for movement along the length of the base. The width of the track is appropriate to requirements of the instrument. As shown in Fig. 3, the inner side of each rail is scaled for several inches, here shown as three, from left and right of zero. The zero marks are aligned transversely of the base in a common plane normal to its longitudinal axis and define a datum line which is the starting point for layout computation and which is spaced sufiiciently inwardly from the left end of the base to accommodate the bulk of the locator between that end of the base and the last inch mark on the scales to left of zero. One rail, here shown as the bottom rail 11 of Figs. 1 and 3, is scaled on its outer side edge to the right from zero for its full length as a standard tape line scale showing feet, inches and fractions thereof. A gear toothed rack bar 13 is secured to the outer side face of each rail throughout its full length, and the space between the rails is occupied by an assembly comprising a center block 14 and side blocks 14a, 14b, mounted on the base over its full length and having flat top faces in a plane substantially flush with the top faces of the track rails. This planar top face of the block assembly provides a wide, flatbed for a plurality of templet tapes, here shown as five and individually numbered 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, extending flatly along the entire length of the block assembly in parallel spaced relation between and parallel to the track rails. The tapes are preferably of thin steel approximately 0.008 inch thick, and vary in width and number according to requirements of the instrument. They constitute the elements of the receiver that are to be marked or otherwise processed at mark points determined by the point locator.

The point locator 12 spans the track rails transversely and carries in fixed relation thereon micro-transmissions 20. These micro-transmissions are known gear reduction devices that are obtainable on the open market and they form no part of the present invention except for their functional purpose in the general combination. Each is provided with a driving pinion 21 vertically meshed with the adjacent rack 13, and each is equipped with a driven pinion 22 horizontally meshed with a rack 23 on the top face of a flat, subjacent mark guide slide 24 movable relative to the locator 12 and to the top face of the block assembly in the spaces between the tapes at opposite sides of the central tape 17. The under face of the locator 12 is appropriately recessed to clear the tapes so that the locator may move freely thereover, and so that the slides may move freely longitudinally when driven by the pinions 22. The slides 24 are carried by the locator 12, being freely slidable on guides secured in the bottom face of the locator directly beneath the pinions 22 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

Each transmission 20 has as part of its equipment a manual control 25, here shown as a gear shift lever movable from neutral selectively to different positions of adjustment with respect to indicia 26 for the establishment of different gear ratios between the driving pinions 21 and the driven pinions 22. It is important to a proper understanding of the invention to note here that the indicia at each gear engagement slot indicates a specific gear ratio and that it bears a definite relation to a specific camber. In other words: if the shop drawing specifies a six inch camber the gear ratio required will be different than that required for a five inch camber, and so on; so that the templet maker can by reference to the indicia 26 set the transmissions for any camber specified. It is equally important to note that the transmissions, as supplied by the manufacturer, are so designed that the rate of travel with respect to the tapes of a mark guide slide 24 actuated by one will be different from the rate of travel with respect to the tapes of the slide 24 which is actuated by the other transmission, although the indicated gear ratio indicia 26 is identical on both. Otherwise stated: in the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed the slide 24 which governs marking of the upper tapes 15 and 16 creeps ahead faster than the slide 24 which governs the marking of the lower tapes 18 and 19. The relative creep is such that, for each increment of forward travel of the locator 12 when laying out for a cambered structural steel element, the rectilinear distance covered by the upper slide head 27, which moves out of the locator, is greater by a certain amount than the linear extent of that portion of the neutral axis of the element represented by that particular increment of locator travel, and, at the same time, the rectilinear distance covered by the lower slide head 27, which moves into the locator is less, by the same said certain amount, than the linear extent of the represented portion of the neutral axis of the element.

Each head 27 is directed laterally towards its adjacent track rail 11 with clearance over the intervening tapes and terminates in a pointer 28. A reference point fixed with respect to the locator 12 is provided by a pointer 29 on the forward end of a bar 30 that is rigidly secured to the body of the locator to project a few inches forwardly thereof and disposed so that the pointer 29 registers with the scale markings on the adjacent rail 11 at its outer side edge. The locator carries in addition a check point fixed with respect thereto. This check point is constituted by the straight end edge 31 of a second bar 32 which is fixedly attached to the body of the locator and projects forwardly thereof in the space between the slides 24 and parallel thereto over the center tape 17. The length of bar 32 is such that its end edge 31 is precisely aligned with the cursor line 29a of the fixed pointer 29 on the bar 30 at all times.

A portion of the bar 30 extends laterally above and beyond the subjacent side edge of the base 10 and rearwardly alongside the body of the locator 12 and is grooved in its top face to provide an open-ended guide channel longitudinally thereof and parallel to the adjacent track rail 11. A ruler 33 is mounted slidably in plate legs.

plate legs. the bottom flange cover plates.

-'-14 with referenceto the track rail some readings.

:adjacent track rail scale. condition for layout computing operation.

the channel 'for longitudinal reciprocation. It is graduated; onthe same scale as that of the track railrfor registrywith the cursor line 29a of-the fixed reference bar '30, but reads to theleft rearwardly from its zero mark, which is located on the front end portion of the ruler. The front end of the ruleris provided with an arm 34 which extends laterally and inwardly over the top of the adjacent track rail with a downturned terminal 35 that slidably engages'the inner side face of the rail in; a-cl earance space between the rail and the block- 14 -and which constitutes the fixed jaw of a clamp. The

outer side face of the track rail is engaged by a movable clamp jaw 36'on theinner endofastem 37. Stem 37 is axiallyslidable in a support lug 38' depending from the ruler head, and the movable jaw'36 isbiased into "clamped engagement against the track rail by a coiled expansion spring 3? which surroundsthe stem between the: lug 38 and the jaw. A pull knob 40 is secured on the outer end of the stem. The locator 12 may be lifted bodily from the base to enable placement of .the tapes and is equipped with manually releasable means of conventional design, not shown," for automatically locking it-in any position of For purposes of illustration only, and without restrictive intent, let it be assumed that the instrument above described is to be employed fora punching machine templet layout for a bridge girder 100 ft. x 8 ft. with a specified 6 inch camber. The tape 15 is representative of the top flange and the top flange cover plates.

Tape 16 represents the top portion of the web and the top angle Tape 17'is an inspectors check tape. Tape 18 represents the bottom portion of the web and its angle Tape 19 represents the bottom flange and A templet maker working from a detailed drawing or blueprint first places the blank tapes in their allotted positions on the block 14 and anchors their leading ends at the left or rear end of the instrument beyond the starting point.

The locator 12 is then placed on the track rails over the tapes with the transmission pinions 21 and 22 meshed, respectively, with the racks 13 and with the slide racks 23. The exact center of the girder is then obtained and the center line is marked on the block In the case assumped thiswill be at the fifty foot mark. The clamp knob 46 is held out to release the clamp and the locator is thenmoved manually along the track and stopped when end 31 of bar 32 and the cursor line 29a of the reference pointer 29 coincide with this center line.

The controls 25 are placed in neutral to free the slides 24 and these are adjusted manually to alignthe cursor propriate gear toestablish the proper gear ratio for a six inch camber as indicated by the indicia 26. The extension ruler clamp is held released and the locator is then moved rearwardly along the track back to its starting point; the location as shown in Fig. 3 at which the cursor line 29a of reference pointer 29 aligns with zero on the The instrument is now in This preliminary rearward movement of the locator with the transmissions in gear is a necessary prerequisite to the start of a computing operation. It is a prior re- 6 from the established center line. As-previously-explained, the upper slide head must travel from the starting point "for a greater distance than the length of the neutralaxis of the girder and, by the same amount, the lower slide "head must travel from the starting point a lesser distance.

in Fig. 2. By first aligning them inregistry at the center line and then moving the locator with the transmissions in gear back to the starting point the proper distances of the slide heads from the center line is assured.

Following the rivet hole location measurements -detailed on the drawing, the locator 12 is movedforward from its zero position, which represents the left end of the girder on the drawing, until'the reference pointer 29 moving in fixed relation with the body of the locator indicates with reference to the track scale the'location of the first rivet hole or line of holes. At this point the locator is stopped; it locks in position automatically. The grider part tapes 15, 16, 18 and 19 are then marked or punched through point holes 41 in the mark guide heads 27 and the inspectors tape 17 is marked at the edge 31. Either before or after marking, the clamp knob 40 -on extension ruler 33, which ruler is a rapid computing device, is pulled out and held to open the clamp while the ruler is adjusted so that its zero is aligned with the reference cursor line 29a.

The next increment of spacing is then taken from the drawing and is transferred to the instrument simply by advancing the ruler 33 with the clamp disengaged until its scale reading with reference to the stationary cursor line 29a indicates the required distance, whereupon the pull knob 40 is released to reengage the clamp and lock the ruler in position as set. The locator is then moved forward sliding with respect to the now clamped and fixed ruler 33 until the cursor line 29a again aligns with zero on the ruler 33; whereupon the locator is stopped and the tapes marked. The ruler 33 is thereupon unclamped and then again extended for the next spacing distance indicated on the drawing; it is locked; the locator is again moved forward to register the cursor line 29a with zero on the ruler; it is stopped; and the tapes are marked. This sequence of operations is repeated for each increment of spacing until the templet has been laid out for the entire length of the girder.

An important feature of this embodiment of the invention, best shown in Figs. 5 and 6, is its adaptability for use in laying out conventional wood strip templets instead of tapes. The side sections 14a of the block assembly are dimensioned the same as conventional wood templet strips and are removable for replacement by such strips; in fact, the sections 1441 may themselves be conventional wood templet strips if desired, and they may themselves be divided in multiple sections. As shown, each section 14a and 14b supports an adjacent pair of the tapes and may, unless replaced, serve as a conventional wood templet strip when the tapes are eliminated. In such case each block section 14a, 14!), or strip which replaces it, is the point mark receiver.

So far as the method and operating principles of the present invention are concerned it is immaterial whether the point locator be moved relative to the point'mark receiver or the receiver be moved relative to the locator. Another specific embodiment of the invention, based on the latter arrangement, is illustrated in Figs. 9-13 in which parts corresponding to similar parts in the preceding form are designated by the same reference numerals with the addition of 100.

In this embodiment of the invention the entire instruyment occupies'very little floor space; for example,- a

length of three and one-half feet as compared to the '7 one hundred foot length of the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1-7. The stationary base 110 is in the nature of a table top supported on corner posts or legs 110a and carries the point locator 112 rigidly fixed thereon.

The width of the base is appropriate to the requirements of the instrument in regard to the number and spacing of point mark receivers, in this instance tapes, to be used. The point locator 112, as in the form previously described, carries micro-transmissions 120. Each has its driving pinion 121 and driven pinion 122, which latter mesh with the racks 123 of the mark guide slides 124 which, also like those of the previously described form, are slidable freely for longitudinal reciprocation on guides secured in the recessed bottom face of the locator body. The locator 112 and transmissions 120 are substantially identical with their counterparts in the embodiment of Figs. 17 except that the driving pinions 121 are horizontally meshed with actuator gears 113 fixed on and rotatable with an operating shaft 142 that is journalled in stirrup bearings 143 on and depending from the bottom of the locator body beyond each side edge of the base. The shaft 142 extends transversely over the base in a plane normal to the longitudinal axis of the base and adjacent the forward end of the locator, and is manually rotatable from a hand wheel 144 fixed on one end. In this assembly the acuator gears 113 are equivalent in function to the rack bars 13 of the preceding form.

As shown in Fig. 9, the top and bottom track bars of the preceding form are respectively replaced in this embodiment by a bar 111 at the top (relative to Fig. 9) and by a standard metal tape measure 145 at the bottom. The bar 111 and the tape measure bear scale indicia identical to the scale indicia of the track bars in the preceding form for cooperation in an identical manner with pointers 123 on the heads 127 of the mark guide slides 124 and with the cursor line 129a of pointer 129 of the fixed reference bar 131) carried by the locator body. The tapes 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, and the measuring tape 145 are, in this embodiment of the invention, each formed with a central longitudinal series of sprocket holes 146 for driving engagement with registering sprocket wheels 147 fixed on and rotatable with the operating shaft 142, whereby rotation of the shaft causes all the tapes to be pulled simultaneously and at the same rate of travel beneath and past the body of the locator 112 and the slide heads 127. The locator mounts an extensible slide ruler 133 identical to the slide ruler of the preceding form and having a similar clamping means 134, or equivalent, engageable with the measuring tape 145 so that the ruler is moved with and by the measuring tape when engaged. Except for the provision of their sprocket holes the templet tapes are identical to those of the preceding form, and are of thin steel approximately 0.008 inch thick. The measuring tape 145 is also of thin steel, and all the templet tapes are supplied in blank form from individual drums journalled on a supply assembly shaft 148 suitably supported adjacent the forward (right hand) end of the base 110. The tapes are disposed in the parallel spaced relation as shown and pass beneath the mark guide slide heads 127 and body of the locator 112 with appropriate clearance, sliding freely on the fiat top surface of the base assembly where the base is not cut away to allow room for wheels 147 and anvil blocks 151, and takes place on the top surface of the anvil blocks also, as shown in Fig. 12. At the other or rear end of the base each tape is wound onto an individual reel mounted on a take-off shaft 149 suitably supported adjacent the base end. Rotation of the take-off reels and supply drums is synchronized with rotation of the operating shaft 142 by any suitable drive connection, not shown, therebetween.

It is preferred, in this form of the instrument, that the templet tapes 115, 116, 118 and 119 be marked at the required rivet hole location points by punching holes -therethrough beneath the point holes 141 in the mark 7 guide heads 127. An arrangement by which punching may be accomplished is shown in Fig. 12, in which the guide heads 127, with preformed point holes 141 therethrough, are attached to their respective slides 124 by bolts 150 or other suitable fastening elements headed in the heads 127 and threaded through the slide ends and into an underlying anvil block 151. Each head 127 has its associated anvil block of co-extensive width and length disposed thereunder and with sufficient clearance between the head and block to accommodate the templet tapes in free sliding relation. The anvil blocks slide freely on the flat top face of the base and move with their associated guide heads 127 by reason of their rigid connection to the heads at the slide ends. Each anvil block carries a die 152 beneath each point hole 141 in the associated mark guide head, which die opens into a discharge passage 153 through which blanks punched from the tapes are delivered through an underlying longitudinal slot 154 provided in the base. If desired, a catch pan 155 may be mounted on the under face of the base for reception of blanks discharged from the passages 153. A hand punch, not shown, preferably is employed through the holes 141 for punching out the tapes.

Operation of this form of the instrument as shown in Figs. 9-13 is similar to that of the preceding form in its principles. For purposes of description and without restrictive intent let it be assumed that the templet tapes are to be laid out for a bridge girder ft. x 8 ft. with a camber specified as 6 inches. The tape represents the top flange and its cover plates. Tape 116 represents the top portion of the web and the top angle plate legs. Tape 117 is an inspectors check tape. Tape 118 represents the bottom portion of the web and its angle plate legs. Tape 119 represents the bottom flange and the bottom flange cover plates. A templet maker working from a detailed shop drawing or print of the girder first threads all the tapes from their supply drums beneath the locator in driving engagement with the sprocket wheels 147 and with the templet tapes passing between the mark guide heads 127 and their associated anvil blocks 151; and attaches the free ends of the tapes to their individual take-off reels at the rear end of the base. The center of the girder will, in the case assumed, be at the fifty foot mark on the measuring tape 145. The clamp 134 is released and held open while hand wheel 144 then is turned to rotate the sprocket wheels 147 and thereby pull all the tapes through the instrument beneath the stationary locator 112 until the fifty foot mark on the tape 145 registers with the cursor line 129a, which line is fixed with respect to the locator and which is at all times in a plane common to the straight end 131 of the inspectors check bar 132. transversely of the tapes and normal to the longitudinal axis of the base. At this point rotation of the hand wheel is stopped and the controls of the transmissions are set in neutral to free the slides 124 so that they may be moved by hand to align the cursor marks on their pointers 123 in the plane of the check bar edge 131 and the cursor line 129a on the pointer of the fixed reference bar of the locator. When this alignment has been made the controls 125 on the transmissions are set in the gear engagement slots which, with reference to the indicia 126, give the proper gear ratio for a six inch camber. With clamp 134 held open, the hand wheel 144 is then rotated in the opposite direction to pull the tapes back beneath the locator for rewinding on their individual supply drums until the zero mark on measuring tape 145 registers with the fixed cursor line 129a of the locator, at which time the slide heads 127 will have assumed positions as indicated in Fig. 9, with the upper slide head to the rear of zero and with the lower slide ahead of zero. This is the starting point for layout computation.

Following the rivet hole location measurements detailed on the drawing, the hand wheel 144 is rotated to drive the transmissions through their gear connections -l l-3 and 1 21 and simultaneously to-pull allthe 'tapes back to; the left beneath the locator 112 and-the guide heads 127,; advancing thetapes at a uniform rate of travel from their supply drums at the forward end of the baseonto their take-off reels at therear end. When the required-distancedor the first rivet hole from the lefthand end of thegirder is indicated on the scale of tape 145 -with reference to the fixed cursor line 129a on the locator pointer rotation of the hand wheel is stopped and the templet tapes are punched out through the point holes 141- in themark; guide heads127 as previously described. During this first computing rotation of the hand; wheelthe {transmissions will have moved their slides 124' in reciprocal paths, with the upper slide 124 moving out ofthe locator housing while the lower slide 124-moves'into the housing, but with the upper head 127 governingthe tapes -115-and 116 progressing at a faster rate than'the lower head governing the tapes 118 and 119 and in a direction opposite to the direction of movement ofthetapes; the relative difference between the extents of travel of the heads 127 having already been determined by-Ithe gear ratio setting of the transmission controls 125. When the templet tapes arepunched the inspeetors tape 117 is marked atthe edge line 131 of the bar 130 which is a fixed element of the locator. {The next increment of spacing is then taken from the drawing and is transferred to the instrument simply by releasing and holding open the clamp 134 in the manner previously described for the clamp 34 and advancing the ruler 133 until its scale reading with reference to the locator cursor line' 129a indicates the required distance, reading to the left from zero on the ruler scale, whereupon" the clamp is'reengaged so that the ruler thereafter is rnoved by and with the measuring tape 145. The hand wheel 144 is then againrotated to pull the tapes to the left 'through the next'increment of spacing until the zero mark onthe scale of ruler 133 moving with the tape 145 aligns with the cursor line 129a of the locator pointer. At this point rotation of the hand wheel is stopped and the tapesare punched and marked as before. The ruler 133 is then extendedas before for the next spacing distance indicated on the drawing; it is clamped to the tape 145; and the hand wheel is again rotated to drive the tapes and the slides 124 until zero ,on the ruler scaleiagain reaches the cursor line 129a, whereupon rotation is stopped and the tapes are punched and marked.

sequence of operations is repeated for each addi- Itioual increment of spacing until the templet tapes have been laid out for the full length of the girder.

It is within the purview of the present invention, and

is so intended, that the actuator shaft 142 may be motor dr iven,,as by an, electric motor controlled from a foot pedal switch or other control. It is contemplated, also, that the slidableruler, 133 may be eliminated and substituted by a cooperatiyelpointer and graduated dial arrangement of the hand wheel. with'reference to a side wa l th lq a r.

' With respect to both forms of the invention as herein disclosed, as well asfor. any specific structural embodiment makes use of an extensible ruler such as 33 or 133' or its equivalent for quick mechanical determination of .smcessivqingzrementaz of spacing, it is optional procedure to use the ruler for all spacing'measurements from startv to finish of a layout operation; For example:

,Figs.3., and.9 illustrate both disclosed embodiments of the instrument in position. for the start of a layout computing operation; at which the datum line defined by the .planecommon to 'the'line of the reference edge 31 or 131 for the inspectors check tape and the zero marks on all the various scales represents the left hand end of end ofthe girder to the first rivet hole location as given on the'dr awing can be transferred to the instrument simply'b'ymoving theruler forwardly to theright) until" w th respect to the other in a defined path of travel, a

'its-scale reading -fro mthe-deft of zero indicates -with than asshown, to receive additional rivet hole markings,

and thattheir number and spacing may be greater than as shown. I It is intended, also, that additional transmissions may be employed on the locator for operation of additional mark guide slides if desired.

Understanding of the invention is facilitated by assum ing-t-heinspectors check tape 17 or 117, which is on the longitudinal axis of the tape assembly, to represent theneutral axis of a cambered girder which on the shop drawing is drawn fiat and straight, following standard practice. Selecting Figs. 2 and 3 for exemplification, itflis apparent from Fig. 3 that at the start of a layout computing operation the upper guide head 27 is to the left of the datum line definedby the common plane; of the edge line 31 and-the cursor line 29a, and the lower guidehead is to its right. The datum line corresponds to the left end edge of the girder on the shop drawing, which -'is always shown perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. In this positionthe cursor mark of the-upper head denotesthe additional length or overhang at the left end of the girder top for the camber specified, and the cursor mark of the lower head denotes the decreased length or cut back at the bottom. During successive increments of advance of the locator 12 both heads 27 'moveforward with it but the upper head moves just enough fartherthan the lower head to insure that it will catchup to it at the center point or line of the layout, asseen in Fig. 2. Thereafter, with reference to the datum line 3 1--29a,- the upper head operates on the right of the line and the lower head operates on its left;- so

that when the last increment of spacing has been laid out the positions of the upper and lower heads will be just the reverse of that shown in Fig. 3.

All forms of the present invention embody the followingprinciples: A point mark locator and a point mark receiver are coupled for relative movement; one is a movable member or means and the other is a fixed member or-means. The locator carries at least two fixed lines of referencewhich lie in a common plane at right angles tothe line of movement of the movable member movement ofthe movable member at a selective, predetermined ratio and is automatic in response to movement of the movable member. Movement of the mark guides is in progression but at different extents of travel .so. that, with respect to the datum line, the resultant travel of at least one of the guides is in a path reciprocal (opposite) to the resultant travel of at least one other of :the guides, althoughall progress at the same time.

Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as those skilled in the art will readily understand; Suchmodifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the invention and appended claims.

I claim:

1. A layout instrument comprising a point mark locator and a point mark receiver coupled for movement of one pair of mark guides mounted on said locator and movable therewlth and also movable with respect to the -locatorin said path of travel, and means responsive to relative movementbetween the locator and the receiver operative to cause said guides to move on the locator simultaneously at different rates of travel relative to the receiver but in the same direction.

2. A layout instrument comprising a point mark locator and a point mark receiver coupled for movement of one with respect to the other along a rectilinear path of travel, a pair of mark guides mounted on said locator and movable therewith and also independently movable with respect to the locator in spaced parallel paths along said rectilinear path of travel, and means responsive to relative movement between the locator and the receiver operative to cause said guides to move on the locator simultaneously at different rates of travel relative to the receiver proportionate to the rate of relative movement between the locator and the receiver.

3. A layout instrument comprising a point mark locator and a point mark receiver coupled for relative movement, a mark guide mounted on said locator and movable relative to both; at least one other and independent mark guide mounted on said locator and movable relative to the locator, receiver, and to the first-named'guide; and means operative in response to relative movement between the locator and the receiver to move at least two of said guides bodily in the same direction relative to the receiver but with one of the two progressing at the same time as the negative of the other with respect to said locator. i

4. A layout instrument comprising a point mark receiver and a point mark locator coupled for movement one with respect to the other along a rectilinear path of travel, means on the locator defining a datum line fixed relative thereto in a plane normal to the longitudinal axisof said path of travel, a pair of mark guides mounted on and independently movable with respect to the locator along said path of travel, and means responsive to relative movement between the receiver and the locator operative to cause said guides to move on the locator simultaneously in separate paths at opposite sides of said datum line and at different rates of travel relative to the receiver.

5. A layout instrument comprising a point mark cator and a point mark receiver, one being a fixed member and the other being a movable member, means on one of said members defining a datum line, a plurality of mark guides carried by one of the members and independently movable With respect thereto relative to the datum line, and means operative in response to movement of said movable member to move all said guides on the member by which they are carried simultaneously relative to the datum line with at least one guide moving faster than at least one other guide in a path of travel relative to the receiver which with reference to the datum line is negative to the path of travel of said one other guide.

6. A layout instrument comprising a point mark locator and a point mark receiver, one constituted as a fixed member and the other constituted as a movable member, means on the movable member defining a datum line in spaced relation thereto, a plurality of mark guides carried by the movable member and independently movable with respect thereto relative to the datum line, and means operative in response to movement of said movable member to cause movement of all said guides on the movable member simultaneously relative to the datum line with at least one guide moving at a faster rate relative to the receiver than at least one other guide and in a path of 12 to cause movement of all said guides relative to the datum line with at least one guide moving at a faster rate relative to the receiver than at least one other guide and in a path of travel which with reference to the datum line is negative to the path of travel of said one other guide.

8. A layout insturment comprising a point mark locator and a point mark receiver coupled for movement of one with respect to the other along a rectilinear path of travel, a member adjacent both in said path of travel and bearing scale indicia graduated in units of length, a pointer fixed on the locator and having a cursor mark cooperative with said scale indicia, means operative to cause incremental relative movement between the locator and the receiver along said path of travel, increment indicator means slidable on the locator for reciprocation parallel to and adjacent said scaled member, means for releasably attaching the increment indicator to said scaled member in fixed relation thereto, and the increment indicator having thereon scale indicia reversed with respect to the firstnamed scale indicia and cooperative with the cursor mark of said locator pointer. W

9. In the instrument of claim 8, the point mark locator being a movable member and the point mark receiver being a fixed member.

10. In the instrument of claim 8, the point mark locator being a fixed member and the point mark receiver being movable, said first-named scale bearing member being also movable, and means operative to cause the point mark receiver and said first-named scale bearing member to move in unison.

11. A templet layout instrument comprising a base, a pair of track rails thereon in parallel spaced relation, a templet assembly on the base between the rails for the full length thereof, a point mark locator comprising a body supported by and movable along said rails, at least one rail having standard measuring tape scale indicia thereon over substantially its entire length, a pointer fixed on the locator body and extending therefrom in registry with the scale indicia, an arm fixed on the locator and extending therefrom in parallel spaced relation to the pointer, the free end of said arm and said pointer occupying a common plane normal to the longitudinal axis of the track rails and defining a datum line, a plurality of mark guides movable on the locator body for reciprocation relative to said datum line and over the templet assembly, and means operative in response to movement of the locator body along the track rails to move at least two of said guides differentially with respect to said datum line and at rates proportionate to the rate of movement of the locator body.

12. In the instrument of claim 11, said templet assembly including a plurality of parallel wood strips in juxtaposition longitudinally in the space between the track rails.

13. In the instrument of claim 12, said templet assembly also including a plurality of tapes to be marked, the tapes underlying the mark guides in parallel spaced relation on the tops of said wood strips longitudinally between the track rails.

14. In the instrument of claim 11, a movement 1ncre ment indicator movable on the locator body in registry with the full length track scale.

15. A templet layout instrument comprising a base, a member constituting a mark point locator fixed thereon and extending transversely across the base between its ends, means operative to move a plurality of spaced parallel templet tapes longitudinally in unison along the base beneath the locator, a plurality of mark point guides movable on the locator for reciprocation longitudinally over the tape area of the base, a standard tape measure arranged parallel with the templet tapes, means operative from the tape moving means to move the measuring tape in unison with said templet tapes, a pointer fixed on the locator in cooperation with the measuring tape scale and defining a datum line in a plane normal to the longitudi- 13 nal axis of tape movement, and means operative in response to actuation of the tape moving means to move at least two of said mark point guides differentially with respect to the datum line at rates proportionate to the rate of movement of the tape moving means.

16. In the instrument of claim 15, a tape travel increment indicator mounted for reciprocation on the base with reference to the datum line, and means for detachably engaging the indicator with the measuring tape for movement with and by the measuring tape.

17. In the instrument of claim 15, a head on each mark point guide arranged to overlie one or more tapes, the head having one or more punch holes therethro ugh, an anvil block fixed rigidly on the guide beneath and coextensive with the head for movement therewith on the top face of the base, and punch die means on the anvil block in registry with punch holes in the head.

18. Method of laying out punch machine templet means for the component parts of a bridge girder or the like shown flat and straight on a shop drawing but having a camber specified, which compirses: disposing in parallel a plurality of blank tapes each representative of a part, portion, or groups thereof of the girder detailed on the drawing; establishing a datum line over the tapes in a plane normal to their longitudinal axes and indicative of the center of the girder; causing relative movement in one direction between the datum line and the tapes to a point at a distance which, measured from the established center, represents the drawing reference end of the girder and defines a starting point; causing relative movement between the datum line and the tapes back from the starting point towards the established center; and, simultaneously with such movement from the starting point, causing a proportionate movement of a tape mark guide relative to the datum line over the tapes representative of the girder parts above its neutral axis and also causing a different proportionate movement of another tape mark guide relative to the datum line over the tapes which represent the girder parts below its neutral axis; simultaneously stopping all said movements then occurring when the linear distance of the datum line from the starting point is equal to the spacing of the first rivet hole from the reference end of the girder as dimensioned on the drawing; marking all the tapes at the positions of their mark guides; then resuming all said simultaneously stopped movements until the linear distance of the datum line measured from the first stop point equals the spacing between the first and second rivet holes as dimensioned on the drawing; again simultaneously stopping all said movements then occurring and marking the tapes at the positions of their mark guides; then resuming all said simultaneously stopped movements and thereafter repeating the sequence of operations each time that the datum line travels a linear distance from the preceding stop point equal to the corresponding rivet hole spacing as dimensioned on the drawing.

19. A layout instrument comprising, a point mark locator, means thereon constituting a datum line, a pair of mark guides on the locator movable independently thereon relative to each other and relative to the datum line, a separate driving means on the locator for each mark guide, a separate driven means as a part of each mark guide, and a separate selective gear transmission for each mark guide on the locator operatively connecting the driving means and the driven means.

20. The structure of claim 19, and means connecting both said driving means for operation in unison.

21. In combination, the structure of claim 20, a point mark receiver adjacent the point mark guides, and a portion of the means connecting said driving means constituting a support for the point mark receiver.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,019,139 Eberley Mar. 5, 1912 1,046,632 Nesheim Dec. 10, 1912 1,422,925 Carter July 18, 1922 1,624,622 Pectal et al Apr. 12, 1927 2,187,087 Leary Jan. 16, 1940 2,637,114 McHugh May 5, 1953 2,770,046 Wichmann Nov. 13, 1956 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE "cnn'rmcxm 0F common a Patent" No. 2,893,133 1 July '7, 1959 William S. Sacher It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column l, line 57, for "axis of" read aiis by Signed and sealed this 1st day oi December 1959.

fittest; Y

KARL L ROBERT c. WATSON Mi ieu $1118 Officer Comiaaioner of Patents 

